There’s a saying. Opinions are like assholes – everyone has one, and they all stink.

Does it make sense for someone to ask for opinions, then get pissed off because they didn’t hear what they wanted? That’s the beauty of America. Everyone can have their own opinion about things. To each his/her own. Just because a person doesn’t agree with a particular opinion, why should the person with that opinion be chastised?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not defending anyone. I just think that if people ask for opinions, they have to understand that there are going to be some opinions put out there that are not necessarily what everyone would agree with. On the other hand, stating your opinion is one thing, being judgmental is another. Although everyone has a right to their opinion, nobody has the right to judge others.

Just my opinion.

I agree if your asking for an opinion expect to get answers you wont like. Now if you are being put down then that is one thing and I would be upset too but if the person is just stating their opinion like you asked then you shouldnt get upset with them. If anything you dont have to like it but just pass it by dont make a big deal out of nothing. :D

giving an opinion is completely different than attacking the person for their opinion. you can attack their opinion by using logic and using facts that support your opinon but attacking the person by saying your dumb or stupid or whatever is just ridiculous. that makes you look ignorant and stupid

On those who ASK for opinions:
Some people do not really want your opinion, they want you to say they are right. Just for justification on their actions.
Some people honestly want and need opinions because they are having trouble deciding on an issue and they need outside opinions.

Now for those people that GIVE their opinion:

There is a way to word and voice opinions so you do not come out sounding like an asshole. I have seen many people be able to do this. It is not HARD to do!

Though I do THINK some people need to take a class in tact and manners in order to be able to speak without being rude, judgemental and coming off sounding like, well, an asshole! :lol

That is just MY OPINION. :D :moon

On those who ASK for opinions:
Some people do not really want your opinion, they want you to say they are right. Just for justification on their actions.
Some people honestly want and need opinions because they are having trouble deciding on an issue and they need outside opinions.

Now for those people that GIVE their opinion:

There is a way to word and voice opinions so you do not come out sounding like an asshole. I have seen many people be able to do this. It is not HARD to do!

Though I do THINK some people need to take a class in tact and manners in order to be able to speak without being rude, judgemental and coming off sounding like, well, an asshole! :lol

That is just MY OPINION. :D :moon


:D

On those who ASK for opinions:
Some people do not really want your opinion, they want you to say they are right. Just for justification on their actions.
Some people honestly want and need opinions because they are having trouble deciding on an issue and they need outside opinions.

Now for those people that GIVE their opinion:

There is a way to word and voice opinions so you do not come out sounding like an asshole. I have seen many people be able to do this. It is not HARD to do!

Though I do THINK some people need to take a class in tact and manners in order to be able to speak without being rude, judgemental and coming off sounding like, well, an asshole! :lol

That is just MY OPINION. :D :moon


I agree, give your opinion on the quesiton asked, not judge the person.

Did you just MOON us rockstar mom? hahaha I hadn't seen that icon before :giggle

I agree with the above.


but some people just dont know how to write, are more outspoken, more abrasive, less sensitive......and it comes across as rude, judgemental, and uncaring to those overly sensitive. I believe this is where the name calling starts. And that shows your childish side :D

I agree, give your opinion on the quesiton asked, not judge the person.

Did you just MOON us rockstar mom? hahaha I hadn't seen that icon before :giggle

Yes..........I MOONED YOU!!! :roflmao

I believe this is where the name calling starts. And that shows your childish side :D

You TOTALLY got what I was thinking!!! :D

i know i have said some abrasive things to people on here, just in my comments in this forum and in suggestions to other people. i am a blunt person and that gets me in trouble sometimes. i've gotten better though. so sorry in advance if i hurt any of ya'lls feelings. i don't mean too, but there are times when i get very heated about certain topics and i just need to say it all and its easier to be abrasive. i am not making excuses simply stating that i know i am a culprit of this. but you are exactly right name calling just makes you look childish and immature

you can attack their opinion by using logic and using facts that support your opinon but attacking the person by saying your dumb or stupid or whatever is just ridiculous. that makes you look ignorant and stupid


But its THEIR opinion.... why ATTACK anything?

I agree.. when you ask for someone's opinion you get the good, the bad, and the ugly hehe... You are also right about having an opinion yet judging someone or criticisizing and such... The thing is, your opinion is just that, an opinion. Some ppl will agree and some not, but, if someone doesn't agree don't let that be the thing you need for you to start thinking that person is stupid, has no common sense, needs help etc! I know too many ppl like that and its just irritating as hell! No one knows everything...

:nana No one knows everything...


I DO! :rolleyes :teehee :nana

hehe:giggle but i can't include you as "no one" or even "everyone" you're special :teehee

:yes

I think opinions are great! Everyone has them, everyone is entitled to them and I think it's silly to attack someone because of how they feel about something. I think if you can challenge the facts that someone's opinion is based on, then great! That's what makes great debates and sometimes opens people's eyes to things that they may have not seen or thought of before. A LOT of opinions are based on false "facts", so I think it's great if you have something educational to add to a debate to make people think further about why they feel the way they do.

I don't think it's fair to attack someone just because they have an opinion on something that is different from you (you in general) or because their opinion seems to be one that not many people can understand. It's an opinion and every single person is entitled to theirs.

Sometimes in certain situations, I think it's best to keep your opinion to yourself. When you know that someone is dealing with a delicate issue that really doesn't need to be any worse, I say just bite your tongue and keep your opinion to yourself if they didn't ask for it. When opinions are asked for, I think it's ridiculous to expect every opinion to be just like yours (yours in general).

A personal peeve of mine is people who state opinions as facts. I can't stand it. If you state your opinion as your opinion, I am almost always open to listening and trying to understand, even if I don't feel the same way.

I think there is a really fine line between having an opinion and just being too damn opinionated. Some people feel the need to have an opinion about anything and everything that anyone says or does and voice their opinion even when it's not necessary. I do think giving an opinion is fine in most cases, even when it's not necessarily asked for, but opinions are not facts and should not be stated like a fact.

I definately agree that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I understand someone getting upset when a person puts their opinion out there as fact and/or acts like their opinion is the correct/right one. Many times I just keep my opinion to myself, doesn't mean that I don't have one, but I really don't see the point in fighting over it. It's my opinion and it's going to stay my opinion no matter what someone says (unless they can show me some good evidence to change my mind). I don't mind hearing someone else's opinion either as long as they put it out there as their OPINION and not as a fact and they aren't telling me that I'm wrong for thinking something else.

I love a good debate but I really don't think many people understand what a debate really is. Not a flame fest or getting mad at someone who has a different opinion but arguing your point with facts/evidence, experience, etc. At the end of a debate you can still agree to disagree without anyone being huffy.

I also think that, on the internet especially, people read too much into things, read things the wrong way, etc. and something that wasn't meant to be abrasive or rude can seem that way. I've learned to let a lot of things just roll off my back when it comes to things on message boards.

It depends on the manner of the opinion. If it is rude- i think they are asking for trouble and others have full right to go off. However if it is a tad controversial but still not rude- then well- thats just all it is.. an opinion. I guess it depends on how it is said. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but sometimes one has to be careful on what they say.

There is NOTHING wrong w/ having an opinion...but there is a difference between having one and forcing your opinion on someone. What happened yesterday was COMPLETELY unacceptable. THis person sent PM's to Rachael (c'mon, I'm sure this post was influenced by what happened yesterday) telling her rude things and making her feel horrible. What is that? That is expressing your opinion? If some of you think that is ok, than you need to get over yourself.

And I agree w/ what someone else wrote, some people do state their opinion like that's how it should be.

There is NOTHING wrong w/ having an opinion...but there is a difference between having one and forcing your opinion on someone. What happened yesterday was COMPLETELY unacceptable. THis person sent PM's to Rachael (c'mon, I'm sure this post was influenced by what happened yesterday) telling her rude things and making her feel horrible. What is that? That is expressing your opinion? If some of you think that is ok, than you need to get over yourself.

And I agree w/ what someone else wrote, some people do state their opinion like that's how it should be.

Since Pms are suppossed to be a private matter and not aired on the boards...(love how the standards change)...

The pm was not rude.... it shouldnt have been taken that way.

Ahh really Rachel.. talk about drudging something up!! I kept it in PMs. I recieved no reply back..:dunno

I agree if your asking for an opinion expect to get answers you wont like. Now if you are being put down then that is one thing and I would be upset too but if the person is just stating their opinion like you asked then you shouldnt get upset with them. If anything you dont have to like it but just pass it by dont make a big deal out of nothing. :D

Couldn't agree more.

(c'mon, I'm sure this post was influenced by what happened yesterday)

This post was influenced by MANY opinion posts. If people do not really want someone's opinion, then they should not ask.

I am not saying that is ok to be rude to someone when you are stating your opinion, infact, I think it's wrong to force your opinion on someone else.

Also, if you ask for people's opinions, and you don't LIKE their opinion, then it's wrong to blast them as well. It goes BOTH ways.

I can agree w/ that but I still dont think it's ok to harass someone by PMing them when you've already stated your opinion on the post :wink b/c that's exactly what your doing- harassing.

No I wasnt harrassing her. I didnt want bring the the public boards my opinion that was so quickly shot down...

Oh bullshit you weren't! I read what you wrote her.

I've already stated my opinion in this post, so I'm done here. Continue to write what you please.

Funny Rach!!!

I will post what I wrote to her!!!

I agree that people can get offended easily when asked for opinions. I wrote a LONG post last night on the other thread regarding ALL of the things that I could have been offended by, from both sides. When you don't like someone to begin with it's even easier to read into a post and get offended.

Take yesterdays post as an example. Militarymom said in her post to do what you think is best and then stated her OPINION. Her OPINION is that a parent should stay home with the kids. She didn't say that anyone was a bad parent or anything else. It seems that the OP doesn't like this person and read into the post something that wasn't there. She is not the only person who had this opinion but interestingly enough she was the ONLY person who was blasted! From there it was downhill. She was told to take it to PM which she did, or so she says. I'm not saying that any one OPINION is right. They are all OPINIONS. If you don't like the persons opinion then ignore it.

There are times with certain friends that I'm afraid to give my opinion, because theirs is so strong they start yelling at me if it's different than theirs. Or, they will tell me my opinion is dumb.

Harassment is stritcly prohibited on this website. However, PMing someone, even if an opinion has already been stated on the forums is not harassment. If Rachael asked her to stop PMing her and she continued, THAT would be harassment and shold be reported to me immediately. Unless she has been specifically asked by Rachael to make no further contact though, I don't consider it to be harassment.

Take yesterdays post as an example. Militarymom said in her post to do what you think is best and then stated her OPINION. Her OPINION is that a parent should stay home with the kids. She didn't say that anyone was a bad parent or anything else. It seems that the OP doesn't like this person and read into the post something that wasn't there. She is not the only person who had this opinion but interestingly enough she was the ONLY person who was blasted! From there it was downhill. She was told to take it to PM which she did, or so she says. I'm not saying that any one OPINION is right. They are all OPINIONS. If you don't like the persons opinion then ignore it.


:agree

Yesterday it was militarymom last week it was parkwoodmom. It will always be someone when a group has banded together and looking for reasons to jump down their throat. I have said the same thing as both of these women and no one said a word to me.

There is NOTHING wrong w/ having an opinion...but there is a difference between having one and forcing your opinion on someone. What happened yesterday was COMPLETELY unacceptable. THis person sent PM's to Rachael (c'mon, I'm sure this post was influenced by what happened yesterday) telling her rude things and making her feel horrible. What is that? That is expressing your opinion? If some of you think that is ok, than you need to get over yourself.

And I agree w/ what someone else wrote, some people do state their opinion like that's how it should be.

Well said. I've been making a solid effort to keep my opinions from sounding too bitchy or harsh.... though i've found that when i get really passionate about something, my "excitement" tends to be reflected in my "tone" and can be interpreted as brusque.

Harassment is stritcly prohibited on this website. However, PMing someone, even if an opinion has already been stated on the forums is not harassment. If Rachael asked her to stop PMing her and she continued, THAT would be harassment and shold be reported to me immediately. Unless she has been specifically asked by Rachael to make no further contact though, I don't consider it to be harassment.

I never recieved any PM back at all..... :dunno

Well said. I've been making a solid effort to keep my opinions from sounding too bitchy or harsh.... though i've found that when i get really passionate about something, my "excitement" tends to be reflected in my "tone" and can be interpreted as brusque.
Like I said.. I never put anything in her PM that I felt was rude.. in fact I told her to do what she needed to do for her family and that she would make the right choice for her family....

:agree

Yesterday it was militarymom last week it was parkwoodmom. It will always be someone when a group has banded together and looking for reasons to jump down their throat. I have said the same thing as both of these women and no one said a word to me.
Thank you!

There are times with certain friends that I'm afraid to give my opinion, because theirs is so strong they start yelling at me if it's different than theirs. Or, they will tell me my opinion is dumb.

:agree